prosperous age

"There's one more thing."

Just when the two thought the matter was over, Deng Zilong spoke again.

Hearing that there was still something to say, both of them looked respectful, waiting to hear what the general opposite them had to say.

"You've been to Manila so many times, you should know what they grow there, called sweet potatoes or something."

After asking, Deng Zilong stared at them without blinking.

"Sweet potatoes. Oh, you must be talking about sweet potatoes. Indeed, many sweet potatoes are red, so it would be more appropriate to call them sweet potatoes."

A look of confusion first appeared on Li Jin's face, then he seemed to have thought of something and immediately smiled.

"Sweet potato, you said that thing is called sweet potato?"

Deng Zilong asked curiously.

"Yes, that's what they call it over there."

Li Jin immediately smiled.

"Yes, sir, it's called sweet potato over there, but some crew members saw that most of the things were red, so they also called it sweet potato."

Chen Zhenlong has been with sailors for a long time, so he knows that many sailors call him that.

He also thought that it was probably his sailors who said this to the outside world, so the general on the opposite side asked questions out of curiosity.

You know, there are a lot of foodies in the Ming Dynasty. When they hear about something strange and new, many people will be curious and want to try it.

"Alas, sir, you don't know.

The sweet potatoes are really delicious when roasted, sweet and soft, and taste great. Unfortunately, the barbarians don't allow us to take the sweet potato vines away, otherwise, you can eat sweet potatoes in Daming."

Li Jin spoke up.

"I heard that it has a high yield and doesn't require careful cultivation to produce results. How much water does it require?"

Deng Zilong asked again.

“I heard that sweet potatoes grow underground and can survive on any soil, as long as it’s not saline-alkali land near the sea. The only problem is the yield.

I have also heard the Yi people say this, saying that this thing is not afraid of drought and cold, grows fast, and can be harvested in three months.

They said there was a very large piece of land in the east, which was covered with this thing, which was very cheap. People there ate it and corn as their staple food.

Because it is easy to grow, the Yi people also carry sweet potato vines with them wherever they go, just to quickly replenish food.

As you know, this is very risky at sea."

Chen Zhenlong spoke.

"Yes, yes, I heard them say that too."

Li Jin quickly agreed.

“Our boss had also thought about sweet potatoes before, and wanted to bring them back to Ming Dynasty to plant.

Unfortunately, the Yi people are very strict and don’t allow us to take away the raw sweet potatoes and sweet potato vines.”

Chen Zhenlong hurriedly echoed his boss's words.

"Is that so? Then can you find a way to bring back sweet potatoes or sweet potato vines?"

As he spoke, Deng Zilong pointed to two large ships in the distance and said with a smile: "Your ships are so big, if you hide them in a secret place, you should be able to bring them out."

Hearing that this was Deng Zilong's request, Li Jin felt relieved.

The other party asked him to help get sweet potato seeds, which was actually exactly what he wanted, because he had had this idea for a long time.

Unfortunately, it never succeeded.

Now that the naval general has brought it up, he should discuss the matter carefully with the manager.

"We must find a way to get these sweet potatoes back to Ming Dynasty."

Li Jin hurriedly patted his chest and made the promise.

"My name is Deng Zilong, and I'm the deputy commander of the South China Sea Navy. Once you get the sweet potato seeds, you can contact the water fort near Yuegang. I will know then."

Deng Zilong spoke up.

Of course, he didn't know about sweet potatoes and yams, but when he was in the capital, he heard Wei Guangde mention them, and it seemed that he was talking about sweet potatoes.

This is also the reason why he was very interested when he heard something called sweet potato.

If the superior likes something, the subordinates will like it even more. If Lord Wei is interested in something, he will naturally find a way to get it.

I didn’t know about sweet potatoes before, so it was nothing. But now that I know about their existence, I must find a way to get them and send them to the capital.

After talking to Li Jin, Chen Zhenlong quickly returned to the ship to get the silver and signed the seal of the South China Sea Navy.

Because it was the private account of the sailors, there were specially printed receipts on the ship. However, the receipts had nothing to do with the merchants. They only stated the reason for the seizure and the amount of tax to be paid, and the other party signed and approved it.

With this thing, it is equivalent to holding the lifeline of maritime merchants, forcing them to admit to smuggling.

This kind of thing is not big, but it is not small either.

If the news spreads, the offender may be severely fined and have his ship and cargo confiscated, or even have his pilot taken back.

Naturally, these are things that maritime merchants try their best to avoid.

The only businesses that dared to do so openly, or were not afraid of naval inspections at sea, were the few businesses connected with Wei Guangde.

With Yu Dayou's greeting, the official ships of the South China Sea Navy turned a blind eye when they encountered them, pretending not to see them and passed by.

Things got out of hand here, and soon the two fleets separated.

The South China Sea Navy's fleet continued sailing towards the north of Luzon Island, while the merchant Li Jin's fleet went a little further south. Their destination was naturally the city of Manila in the southern part of central Luzon Island.

Standing at the stern and watching the navy ship leave, Li Jin wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a breath.

"Boss, this navy gunboat really looks like the real deal."

Chen Zhenlong often went to sea, so he had naturally seen the armed merchant ships and warships of the barbarians, so he spoke at this time.

"Indeed, this gunboat looks like the barbarians."

Li Jin said, "If the government had not prohibited it, I would have bought more cannons and put them on the ship."

Chen Zhenlong nodded, and suddenly remembered what happened before, so he said, "Boss, what the man on the boat said."

"Think of a way. As long as we can get sweet potatoes back to Ming, we will definitely make a lot of money by growing them."

Li Jin spoke up.

They actually had cannons on their ships, but they were all small cannons, obtained from coastal garrisons at a considerable cost.

Naturally, the performance is not very good, it is just for scaring people, and it is only lethal when the pirates approach the ship. There are also some muskets and bows and arrows.

In fact, the government knew that these contraband items were being taken out to sea, but they pretended not to know.

After all, if you don’t have any weapons at sea, you’re basically doomed.

Perhaps the Ming government did not approve of it at first, but after seeing the armed merchant ships of the barbarians, they all fell silent.

At this time, Li Jin was not thinking about bringing back sweet potato seeds, but wanted to take the opportunity to contact Deng Zilong.

The other party is so concerned about sweet potato seeds. I believe that if they can get sweet potato seeds, they can rely on Deng Zilong's big ship.

It doesn't mean that only civil officials controlled the Ming Dynasty. In fact, military generals also played a very important role. It mainly depended on who was in charge.

Since the Li family is engaged in maritime trade, they naturally have to find ways to curry favor with the naval officers, which is beneficial to their voyages.

Civil servants can only help on shore in this matter; once out to sea, the naval generals have the final say.

Just like what happened today, if someone has any bad intentions, the two boats will be dead here. "Uncle Chen, find a way to get the sweet potatoes or sweet potato vines back. Maybe, with those things, we can get closer to General Deng. In the future, whether it's at sea or with the firearms that the navy has exchanged, he can help us."

Now that he had thought of it, Li Jin whispered to Chen Zhenlong behind him.

"Boss, I understand."

Chen Zhenlong immediately nodded and agreed.

Just as Deng Zilong said, with two such big boats, it is impossible that they cannot even hide a small sweet potato, let alone sweet potato vines.

After they knew the policies of the barbarians, they gave up the idea of ​​doing this.

After all, they are businessmen. Although bringing sweet potatoes back to Ming Dynasty can help them make money, the income from farming cannot compare to the income from maritime trade.

Naturally, they gave up the plan of introducing the species for fear of angering the barbarians.

It’s different now. If a general of the Ming Dynasty takes a fancy to this thing, then it’s worth taking the risk.

A few days later, the two merchant ships entered Manila Bay and docked at the pier under the towing of a guide ship.

After the gangplank was set up, Li Jin and Chen Zhenlong got off the boat first and negotiated with the Yi people's representatives on the shore.

They were all old acquaintances, and it was not the first time that Li Jin's merchant ship came here, so when they saw him, they gave him a warm hug.

"Dear Li, what treasures have you brought us again? The silk cape you sent last time was really great. The ladies in the city all liked it very much and have been looking forward to your return."

The tax collector smiled at Li Jin.

"Oh, that's great. You know, the products that can be on my ship are all the best products of Ming Dynasty. They are absolutely the best."

Li Jin laughed happily.

"The price is absolutely too high."

The tax collector smiled bitterly.

"But it's worth the price, isn't it, Garcia?"

Li Jin said happily.

  If there wasn't enough profit, wouldn't he have taken this remote route to Manila?

What a joke.

In fact, the best fabrics in the Ming Dynasty, the top-grade ones, were definitely made in the country and purchased by the palace.

Of course, some of it would flow out, but it would also flow into the homes of high-ranking officials.

As for Yuegang and sea trade, Yuegang is actually the worst, just to fool the Yi people, a bunch of idiots.

The better ones are in the hands of these merchants, some for their own use, and some for trading to make money.

These were only considered second-rate fabrics in the Ming Dynasty, but when they were exported, they were definitely regarded as the Ming Dynasty's top-level handicrafts.

Yes, it's handicrafts.

These are just to fool the barbarians, a bunch of country bumpkins, because these are things that these maritime merchants would never tell others.

Leaving Chen Zhenlong at the dock directing the porters to unload the cargo from the ship, Li Jin and Garcia went into the office building behind the dock to chat.

After making tea for Li Jin, Li Jin smiled and said, "Garcia, you are getting more and more skilled at making tea."

"Mr. Li taught me well. This tea tastes really good, not inferior to coffee at all."

Garcia immediately responded.

But Li Jin just waved his hand as usual and said, "You guys are in such a plight, yet you still want to sell it to the Ming Dynasty. I advise you to give up on this idea.

In my Ming Dynasty, most people, if not all, can't get used to your stuff.

I also gave the coffee you gave me last time to my friends. It’s okay to drink it occasionally, but if you drink it for a long time, no one is willing to do it. "

When the foreigners came to the Ming Dynasty, in addition to purchasing the various Ming products they needed, one of the purposes was to promote their products.

As for transactions, naturally when they buy Ming Dynasty goods, they also hope that Ming Dynasty merchants can buy some goods from them so that they can also make money.

But unfortunately, most of their products were rejected.

Apart from weapons, it seemed that the Ming merchants were only interested in the silver in their hands and had no intention of buying anything else.

Therefore, apart from selling some weapons in small quantities at high prices, all other transactions could only be made with silver.

Although they have silver, it is not made like this.

"By the way, do you have sweet potatoes? I still miss the taste. They are so delicious when roasted."

Li Jin suddenly said again.

"Of course, we have that thing here if you just come."

Garcia said cheerfully.

Next, Li Jin began to ask about the market situation in Manila and how many merchants were in the city.

This is very important. Only when there are enough merchants can his goods be sold at a good price.

Next, Li Jin asked about the latest situation in Manila, including the facilities that were planned and under construction in the city.

"Your Lord Governor, when will you allow me to buy a house in the city? It's really inconvenient to stay in a hotel every time I come here.

You know, the last time the pirates attacked Manila, I was really scared.

I hope you can bring me good news this time. You know, my house in Daming is also built in a city protected by tall walls, which can reassure us businessmen."

Li Jin put away his smile and asked.

"I'm sorry about what happened last time, Li, you know I have always regarded you as a good friend and a good brother.

As for the matter of the house, I also reported it to the Governor after the last incident, and he also took it very seriously.

After their consultation, in principle you are allowed to buy houses in the city, but the number of people will be limited, that is, the number of Ming people living in the city cannot exceed five."

At this point, Garcia also smiled and continued: “You and Chen, and a few guards, five places should be enough.

As for the servants in the house, you can just ask locals to clean the house for you, right?

Those sailors can only rest in the hotel at the dock. They can go into the city to stroll around, but they must leave the city and rest at the dock at night. "

"Ten, my guards. Three are not enough."

Li Jin said immediately.

"Okay, I will talk to the Governor-General and the Commander of the Guard tomorrow. The power is in their hands."

Garcia answered immediately.

"By the way, you have to send more people to guard Manila City. The pirates didn't attack the city with all their strength last time. Otherwise, your limited manpower would not be enough."

Li Jin said again.

"Haha, dear Li, don't worry, this will never happen again.

That pirate Lin will die soon. Any enemy who dares to offend Spain will be punished by Jesus. We will not let him go unpunished. "

Garcia immediately laughed.

"Oh, Lin Feng is still in Luzon?"

Hearing Garcia say this, Li Jin immediately became interested and asked further.

"Yes, they settled down at the river mouth more than 200 miles to the north, and even built a city. It seems that they plan to live there permanently, haha."

Garcia laughed contemptuously. (End of this chapter)